While you are focused on relaxing on your vacation and all the fun things that you will be doing once you arrive at your destination, you may have overlooked one tiny detail. If you did not prepare the car for the long journey, you may be stuck on the side of the highway waiting for help instead of enjoying your summer trip.
Here are 3 ways to prepare your car for a summer road trip;
Be Sure to Pack a Roadside Emergency Box
One of the most important ways to prepare for that long summer road trip is packing an emergency box and keeping it in the trunk. It is impossible to predict when something will go wrong with your vehicle, so packing some safety essentials can go a long way. Make certain to have safety triangles or road flares in your emergency box, these will altert other drivers that your vehicle is disabled on the side of the highway so they can avoid an accident. Be sure your vehicle has a working spare tire, car jack, tire iron, and lug wrench. Inside the emergency box, keep some tools like a hammer, screwdriver, pliers, wrench, scissors, and socket set. Pack a roll of duct tape, it is useful for patching leaks in radiator hoses or repairing wipers or belts.
Flashlights and plenty of batteries are crucial for night repairs or flagging down help. An empty gas can, gallon of engine coolant, and tire plugs, all important to get you miving again when your vehicle is stranded on the side of the highway.
Keep Plenty of Essentials on Board
When you are traveling with family in your vehicle on that long summer road trip, you never now how many miles there will be between rest areas. Rather than driving several hundred miles with cranky passengers, packing the right essentials can make the trip go that much smoother. Keep a few bottles of water in the car, as well as bags of healthy snacks. Just in case you get a flat tire and are stranded in the middle of no where, you want everyone to have food and drink until roadside assistance arrives. Window sun shades can minimize how hot it gets in the back seats, and pillows are key for taking a little nap during long stretches of travel.
Don’t forget about bringing plenty of charging devices for phones, tablets, or DVD players. Keep a decent stack of movies on standby for the littler kids so you can easily distract them with Elmo or Dora when the ride seems like it is taking forever for them. A roll of toilet paper and portable toilets can come in handy when you are hundreds of miles between rest areas and the kids have to go.
Get Your Car to a Local Service Center
Regardless how your vehicle looks to you, it needs to be brought to the service center so experienced technicians can get a closer look. These service center professionals have decades experience in being able to spot small issues that have the potential to turn into roadside emergencies. The service center techs will make sure that they change all the fluids throughout the engine. The team will check belts and hoses for any signs of trouble, then get to work inspecting the fuel system. Once done, they will replace filters and lubricate all of the moving parts. The air conditioning system will be checked for any leaks, and then cooling system pressure tested.
The team at the service center will carefully check all the tires for any signs of trouble, then get to work on inspecting the brake system. Once all of the moving parts have been carefully checked, you can rest assured knowing that you vehicle is in peak condition to handle even the longest summer road trip.
These 3 ways to prepare your car for a summer road trip will put you and your family in the best position to arrive to your destination without incident. Planning for trouble while still safe at home will reduce the chances of you being stuck in some very dangerous situations far from the nearest service station.
